by Shana Vernon
“What was that?” I said as I tugged tighter on his arm, seeing him wince. “You said I’m going down?” I heard people around us who had stopped their own sparring to watch us, laugh, and felt Ryder tense his muscles.
He grunted, bracing his knees on the floor before lifting me up in the air, while I had him in an arm bar, my legs wrapped around him, and slammed me on the floor. The breath flew out of my lungs and my wrist snapped under the pressure.
I let out a loud yelp and forced healing energy into my hand as Ryder moved off of me. I jumped to my feet and punched him in the face, his nose crumpling under the force of my knuckles.
He stumbled back, red pouring down his face as I crouched. My hands, now both healed, resting on my knees as I panted, trying to regain my steady breathing.
I met his gaze and wide, matching smiles split over our faces.
That. Was. Epic.
The safe house had become a haven for me, especially after creating a sort of nightly movie ritual with whoever happened to be there each evening.
“Pick a different movie, I’m not watching that,” Luka said through the phone as I walked out of the grocery store, my hands full with bags of food for that evening, my phone wedged between my ear and shoulder.
“What’s not to love? There are animated vampires who run a hotel. It’s cute!” I exclaimed with a laugh as I approached my car, my footsteps echoing in the silent parking garage.
He snorted. “You’d think with actual vampires around the humans would get us right, but they never do.”
I stepped over a discarded beer bottle. “Let’s make a deal. We’ll watch the first fifteen minutes, and if you don’t like it, we’ll switch to something with action.”
“John Wick?” He asked.
“Deal.”
“Did you get licorice?”
I scoffed. “Obviously. I’m not an amateur, fang man.”
“One day, you’re going to come up with a much better nickname than ‘fang man’.”
“Oh, like little assassin is so uni—.” The rest of the word didn’t manage to leave my lips before something slammed into the back of my head and I dropped to the floor, the groceries spilling out onto the concrete.
“Lenna? Are you okay?” I could hear Luka asked, but I couldn’t reply, my mind becoming more and more fuzzy with the passing seconds.
“Lenna!” Luka’s voice was frantic, and a hooded figure slamming their foot down on my phone was the last thing I saw before everything went black.
“Ugh,” I groaned as I came back to consciousness, the pain in my head blinding. Taking a quick overview of my body, I felt that my right elbow was sore. I assumed it was from when I fell after being knocked out. I didn’t need to open my eyes to know that I was fastened to a chair, only my arms and ankles bound.
Whoever tied me up was an incompetent fool. Even without my light, I could get out of these binds in less than a minute. Without hesitating, I shoved healing energy to my injuries, not caring who was watching me. I needed my mind clear to focus on my escape. Would Killian Abbott have abducted me if he found out who I really was? I quickly disregarded him as a suspect. He would never have tie me so carelessly unless it was some sort of training exercise.
I heard people shuffling around me and murmuring in hushed tones. Then one voice was heard over the others. “She’s waking up! Call Zander.”
I didn’t know who Zander was, but he was about to understand he abducted the wrong person. My blood rushed through my veins, my anger rising with each passing second that my body stayed strapped to the seat. I concentrated my light energy to my hands, burning through the ropes. I opened my eyes as I felt them fall to the ground, finally taking in my surroundings.
I was sitting in a wooden chair in the wide-open space of a warehouse, the windows too high up to see through. There was a single table with surveillance equipment set up a few feet away from me, a young, red-haired man typing away at the keyboard.
I examined the two people standing in front of me with their arms crossed, attempting menacing expressions. I let out a low chuckle.
“Is this one right in the head, Adrian?” A woman with ripped jeans and a plain, white t-shirt said, her long brown hair held up in a high ponytail. “She’s been kidnapped and she’s laughing.”
I fixed my gaze on her, keeping my arms behind my back as if they were still tied. “I’m laughing because you’re about to realize you made a big mistake. I was on my way to movie night.” I looked around the room for my bag of groceries. “Where is my licorice?”
The woman raised an eyebrow to the male she called Adrian, who shrugged. He wore civilian attire as well, and I noticed the bulge in his shirt which undoubtedly housed a gun, or some other sort of weapon. I had a feeling I wasn’t dealing with professionals.
When my gaze lifted to his, I was met with a set of eyes a little too close to purple to be human.
Hybrid.
What in the world was going on? I thought before addressing them both. “What do you want with me?”
The girl opened her mouth to speak, but her companion shushed her. “Don’t say a word until Z gets here.”
Z must be the Zander person they were talking about earlier.
I leaned forward in my chair; my hands still planted behind me. “Look, as fun as this has been, I really think I ought to be going now.” I said, giving them one last chance to tell me I could leave before I took matters into my own hands. I didn’t really care if they were hybrids or not, you don’t take someone off the street and make them miss movie night. It simply wasn’t done.
“You aren’t going anywhere until we speak with Zander,” Adrian said, his hand raised to push me back into my seat.
Oh no, you don’t.
Right before his hand made contact, I caught it with my own and pressed into a pressure point on his wrist, bending it backward until he gasped and stumbled to his knees. I easily stepped out of the ropes around my ankles, and squeezed harder, close to breaking his wrist.
Someone was at my back less than a second later, an arm wrapping around my throat, restricting my hair flow. The ponytail girl.
Sloppy Lenna. This was really not my day.
I slammed my elbowed her in the ribs, loosening her hold enough to slip out and around her, conjuring my light whip and cracking it on the floor.
“Back up, right now!” I yelled, the flow of my energy humming with excitement as it always did in anticipation of a fight.
The three of them took up defensive positions, their eyes wide as they stared at my whip, the red-head’s computer forgotten as he prepared himself for a scuffle.
“What is going on in here?” A voice boomed. I extended my sight to observe a male in his late teens enter the room, his honey-blonde hair hitting below his ears. His eyes were blue like the ocean, but they lit up in a way that wasn’t natural. Another hybrid.
What in the world is going on?
The others quickly dropped their positions and turned to the newcomer. “Our intel suggested that this is the one responsible for all the missing hybrids.” Adrian said as he gestured in my direction.
The male followed the line of sight to me and gasped. He wore a graphic tee with a picture of a bunny with fangs.
“You fools,” he breathed, taking a step closer to me, causing me to retreat backward, my whip pulsing brighter in my hand.
His eyes flickered to it momentarily, before returning to my own. “Lenna?” He asked breathless.
My heart skipped a beat. “Who are you?”
He must have taken that as a confirmation of my identity because a wide smile broke out on his face. “I can’t believe it’s really you. I’ve wanted to meet you for so long.”
“Look, buddy,” I said, letting the whip dissolve. “I don’t know what your deal is, but your friends grabbed me off the street and knocked me out.” I looked at my watch. “Now, I’ve missed movie night and my friends will definitely be worried and wondering why there are no snacks. You can’t
have movie night without snacks.” I was just babbling at that point, but the stranger was making me uncomfortable with the way he was looking at me. I couldn’t tell what that expression meant.
The boy looked to the others. “Which one of you knocked her out?” He asked with a growl.
Adrian raised his hand. “It was me. I don’t get it; do you recognize her?”
He took a few steps and punched him in the face. Adrian crumpled to the floor.
Ouch.
“Did you really not understand who you kidnapped? You just assaulted and kidnapped the heir to Ibrida.
The heir to what now?
Their mouths dropped open; shock displayed over their features.
I waved my hand. “I’m going to need a little more information than that.”
“I am so sorry,” he said, a genuine look of regret passing over his face. “My name is Zander Locke, and I’m your brother.”
Chapter 23
I gaped.
My brother?
I examined every feature I could see. Everything from our matching hair to the shape of our faces, even the way we held ourselves.
How was that even possible?
“Your mother is Eleanor?” I asked, finally able to find words.
“Our mother,” he corrected.
Our mother. One who decided I wasn’t worth staying around for. A woman who clearly didn’t feel the same way regarding Zander, since he shared her name. No, I wouldn’t call her mother. I had only one parent, and that was and will always be Papa.
I shook my head. “The day she abandoned me she gave up any right to be called my mother.”
He flinched. “I understand.” It didn’t look like he meant that in the slightest.
“So, you’re a hybrid. I guess that means your father is a vampire.”
Zander nodded. “Yeah, they rule our people together.”
I remembered his earlier comment. “You mentioned something about Ibrida?”
“Yes. Ibrida is our city,” he said, pulling up a chair and putting the back to his chest, straddling it.
“A city of hybrids.” I let that sink in for a moment. “How have I never heard of it?” I asked.
He ran a hand through his hair. “Well, it’s… hidden from the outside world. We don’t typically venture outside our walls. We aren’t protected out here.”
A secret city of hybrids could change everything. If it was safe there, it gave us a new place to bring the hybrids we save. Giving them a safe haven without the need to stay inside like prisoners. If there were enough of them, we could bring their existence to the rest of the world, so they could be acknowledged and safe from the Guild.
Well, safer.
“So, why leave now?”
“Because of you, it seems.” He replied. The others melted to the sidelines, sitting on chairs further away.
“How so?”
“Hybrids have been disappearing. Hybrids we’d been attempting to rescue. Since we don’t have the option to leave so often, we go out in stealth missions, bringing hybrids in one by one. Because we can’t go out that often, we sometimes arrive too late to save them.” His shoulders dropped.
Was this some kind of act?
A big part of me wanted to believe that he was being truthful, that he actually cared about the hybrids and wanted them to be safe. Shared blood was not enough of a reason to trust him though. It seemed like he understood I wasn’t sure to believe him when he held out his phone to me.
“I know everything I just said sounds crazy, but it’s true. You can look through my pictures and see the city. We are completely self-sustaining. We grow our own food, make own technology, and build our own houses. The cars we import from outside since we don’t have the space for that, but you get the idea.”
I accepted the phone and scrolled through the images almost not believing my eyes. He had pictures of men, women, children, and even pets. My finger froze when I landed on a familiar face. Evelyn’s face, or rather Eleanor’s face. She had an arm thrown casually around Zander’s shoulders as he lifted the camera in a selfie mode.
Even after seeing Evelyn almost every day, this picture was still a shock to my core.
I wondered what it must have been like for Zander, growing up with both parents. Were they together? Were they in love? The hug in the picture indicated that he and Eleanor were close. My stomach turned and I thrusted the phone back to him.
“Yeah, it looks nice.”
He smiled and scooted his chair closer. “Lenna, I can understand why you would be upset with Mother, but she had her reasons for what she did.” He paused, his feet tapping with his excitement. “Mother told me about you years ago. She didn’t know about your personality or anything, but your father sent her pictures. That’s how I recognized you.”
I shifted uncomfortably in my seat. “I didn’t know he kept in contact with her.” Hearing that Papa had known my mother was alive that entire time left a sour taste in my mouth. What possible reason could he have had for not telling me about her if she was safe in a hidden city?
“He didn’t. Not really. He would send one picture every year from your birthday to an old P.O. box she has under an unknown alias. It’s the one time she actually goes back out into regular civilization.”
I hung my head. “Well, she won’t be getting one this year.”
“Why not?”
“Because my father died a few months ago. He was killed by Guild members.”
He went to move forward but stopped himself. “I’m so sorry, Lenna. I heard he was a good man.”
“The best.” It was time to change topics. “Why did you call me an heir?”
“Because you are the oldest child and female. Our society is matriarchal, just like the vampires. I won’t be able to lead until I marry.” He gestured to himself. “I’m not planning on letting this go to waste by settling down any time soon.”
I laughed. “Okay then.”
His face took on a serious expression. “Can you tell me what’s been going on with the hybrids? Where have you been taking them?” He asked, running his hand through his hair again.
Before I had a chance to answer, the familiar scent of autumn leaves swept through the air. Luka zoomed into the room, stopping to stand in between me and Zander, snarls ripping from his throat. Everyone in the room jumped to their feet and I heard a few curses shout out from their surprise. They clearly weren’t expecting Luka.
What kind of security systems do these guys have?
I placed calming hands on Luka’s shoulders. “Hey, fang man. Everything is alright. They aren’t hurting me.”
He whipped around, keeping Zander in his sights while he gently took my face between his hands, looking me over for injuries. “Are you okay?”
I nodded.
“What happened?” He asked softly, and warmth spread through me from the placement of his fingers. His concern was touching.
“These guys knocked me out and brought me here to ask questions.”
Luka’s snarls started again, and he moved to turn around. I grabbed his arm to halt his movement.
Zander looked curiously back and forth between the two of us, wisely not daring to make a move. He simply sat back in his seat and crossed his legs, keeping his eyes trained on us.
Luka glanced back at me. “What do they want with you?”
I yanked on his arm, trying to keep his attention on me. “That’s what I was trying to figure out before you arrived.” I gestured toward an empty seat. “Why don’t we sit down and talk it all over?”
He brought the extra chair an inch away from mine and waited until I sat before sitting on the edge of his seat, his thigh pressed firmly against mine. I’d never seen him react so protectively of me before. Was this a response to me feeding him? I needed to learn more about vampire culture. I let it go for now, but we were going to need to have words if he thought that would fly all the time.
“Luka, this is Zander Locke….my brother,” I said slowly. Th
e words felt weird as they passed through my lips, but they were undeniable true. I felt it in my bones.
Luka’s eyes widened and his face whirled back to face mine. “What?”
“Zander is my half-brother. My mother and his vampire father got together. He’s a hybrid.”
Zander didn’t respond, so I turned to look at him. His mouth was gaping wide as he stared at Luka’s tattoos. “Luka…” his expression cleared. “Luka, as in Prince Lukalian of the Night Court?” He asked, and it was my turn for my mouth to drop open.
“Did you just say prince?” I tapped Luka on the shoulder. “What is he talking about, Luka?”
There are vampire princes?
Luka’s body was tense under my hand as Zander chuckled.
“Ouch, sister. It seems like your boyfriend was keeping a pretty huge secret from you.”
“Not now, Zander,” I snapped, tugging on Luka’s still form.
“Look at us, sister. Already fighting like siblings. Mother will be so proud,” Zander said, and I rolled my eyes.
Luka finally turned his face to me. “I’ll explain later, alright?” His honey eyes looked worried as they met mine.
I nodded.
“Can we get back what’s actually important here?” I asked, leaning back in my seat, and crossing my arms over my chest.
The other hybrids, now realizing they wouldn’t be attacked, approached us with their chairs and sat in a semi-circle around us. They all looked at Luka with awed expressions. I knew Luka had mentioned that his mother was an important member of the vampire communities, but he never mentioned that she was a Queen.
I finally understood how it must have felt to be on the other side of my secrets, and it wasn’t pleasant. I couldn’t fault him for keeping secrets though. He didn’t owe me anything. Who knew what that secret would cost him should it get out?
I couldn’t even imagine what the Guild would do with that. Kidnap and barter him off to his parents most likely. That thought send shivers down my spine, goosebumps appearing over my skin. A sudden urge to safeguard his secret washed over me. I wouldn't let it be used against him.